The Journey to Gyde's Rock
by Divino Antifaz
Summary: After his adventure in Terebithia, 14-yearold Link arrives at a desert wasteland through Ikana Canyon. Here he meets a life-long friend and together they set out on a hopeless adventure, stretching their trusts, fears, and hearts to a new extreme.
1. A Boy

~Author's Note~ As we all know, "Zelda" characters don't belong to me. If they did I wouldn't be writing a fan fiction here. The characters that don't exist in the game are from my imagination, and I wouldn't like anyone to steal them....be creative. Hope you enjoy, this is my first fan fiction.   
  
The Journey to Gyde's Rock  
  
Chap. 1: A Boy  
  
Sure he'd heard tales about the waste of Lathrian, but never once had he thought the solitude of this place could be this extreme. A boy led his horse, head drooping and clopping lazily down the dust-baked path. The trail seemed to cleave through the baron mountains endlessly with no change of scenery. Every now and then a starved, tree would be pitifully clinging in some crack and a bird would rasp from above. The tiny horse, Epona, her coat was a mousy brown, an embarrassment to the rich chocolate-strawberry it would boast in her prime state. Her gleaming white mane and tail were reduced into gray, dead leaves.  
  
Her rider wasn't much to look at either. Link, only at 14 continued to lead Epona on with a hope learned from hardships no child should (or could) imagine. Beneath the wispy straw hair, dusty green tunic, and matching hood (that he refused to take off), there was so much more than a typical boy yet to become a man. There hid secrets in a certain sparkle in his deep blue eyes; one that only two other people in the world knew; only two other that knew the legend was true. His purpose pushed him on.  
  
Link looked up at the sky and squinted his clear eyes. The blue pulsated along with the big yellow yolk simmering smugly in is frying pan. About 6:30. He thought Not long 'til sundown I guess. Sunset would be a relief from the heat for Link, but it would also mean the monsters would come out. In every land Link had ever been through, night was the time the darkest, biggest creatures emerged. In Link's homeland, Hyrule, Skullkids would spring out of the ground right were you were going to put your foot down, ready to bash your brains in. Link felt a twang of loftiness and smiled. It was always fun to destroy those boneheads. It was even easier with his updated Kokiri sword and the Hero's shield banging softly against his back. The light rhythmic pressure was like having a friend's reassuring hand rest between his shoulder blades. His friends, human at least, were far, far away in Hyrule though; Malon, Saria, Impa, Ruto....all gone. Link then remembered the princess of the kingdom: Zelda. She was back there too.  
  
A girl with wavy golden hair, aqua moist eyes that held the universe, powdery white skin, brazen earrings wrapped into the 3 triangles of the Triforce, all in a flowing pink gown with rich purple and blue embroidery; and of course the golden circlet upon her head, broadcasting her rank to all who bear their eyes on her majesty. She beckoned to Link from far down the road with her delicately white-gloved hands. The boy's insides flipped and he dug his boots into Epona's bare sides. She gave a surprised snort of protest, but took off galloping. Link had gained the trust of his steed with much cost. His heart punched faster and faster with the clipity-clop of his horse's hooves. Zelda's image steadily grew along with Link's spirit and hope. His hearted strove to see a friend, a human.... at least once again. He couldn't talk to his horse forever.  
  
Epona suddenly reared back with a frightened neigh, threw Link many feet away. He fell with a yelp on his face and quickly scrambled up.  
  
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU HO-!?" Link froze with the piercing glare Epona swung around and gave him. It was amazing how human his little pony could be. Gasping for breath and holding his scraped nose, Link saw why Epona had lurched. All the happiness he thought he had ever felt seeped right out of boots and into the cracks of dust and negativity.  
  
In front of Epona was a gnarled bush, no taller than Link. It had desperate-looking yellow buds stained with the hardships of trying to take root in a place like this. There was no Zelda, she was still countless miles away in some snug bed, probably with golden blankets and pillows, and maids, hanging intensively on the slightest ring of her bell. Link was here with dirt, a bush, and livestock. He walked over to Epona's head, took it in his hands, and looked right into her black shiny eyes.  
  
"I'm stupid. You were right, my dear. It's just the heat....just....the heat."  
  
The weather really wasn't the sole blame though. Link knew he couldn't blame the sun for doing her job. He knew he was changing, but it shouldn't be so new to him. From those short weeks...he had been an adult; strong, handsome, feared, and more courageous than ever. He knew what he was going to be like in a few years. Just that last time, he had slept though this confusing time after pulling out the Master Sword at the Temple of Time....yet another memory lost in Hyrule. How cruel time was, yet his label was the Hero of Time.....Hero of Cruelty? He tried not to think of all the outcomes.  
  
Time leads you on in a race, but as soon as you see the finish, you try to tooth and claw you way back to the beginning, which would mean your start was pointless. Link believed he'd stay the same as the Kokiri children he had been raised as. But he discovered he was a Hylian, that's why he had changed while everyone else had remained in blissful ignorance. He had been plunged into knowledge, wisdom, good & evil...love. Link had been thrown into this storm without warning, guidance-or choice. All because of one little triangle on the back of his left hand.  
  
He leaned against Epona and raised his left hand above his head, and twisted it this way and that as a lady who fancied materials would examine a particularly large rock. He couldn't see the Triforce of Courage, but he knew it was there. Its golden splendor would only emerge when the other two triangles; Wisdom, belonging to Princess Zelda, and Power, owned by the terrible Ganon, were all at the same place. Then the triangles would be drawn to eachother and be united as the Triforce. The Sacred Triangle would grant the wish of whomever lay their flesh upon it. Link had had to save the world from Ganon's wish, but this had called for all these emotions he was pulled into unwillingly.   
  
To be frank, Link looked forward to being an adult...again. He never was told what to do by anyone. Many people would describe him as a free spirit, one that couldn't stay indoors all his life or in one place; they have to be out doing something and enjoying life to its seams. As an adult, there were even less limits for him. No one would call him a child or tell him he shouldn't be out late. No one would laugh at his "crazy ploys for attention" or that HE, of such stature, was the renown "skilled swordsman" that went around saving kingdoms.   
  
Link's hand tightened on the saddle horn in anger. Zelda had "gifted" him with his childhood immediately after they had sealed Ganon in the Evil Realm. Upon becoming a child again, he felt so weak and false. Link sometimes couldn't decide who he really was: a courageous boy, or heroic man stuck in a feeble shell. All these thoughts could drive him mad!  
  
From his pocket, Link drew out the Ocarina of Time, another gift from Zelda, to remember their adventure by. The memento was the most beautiful instrument Link had ever seen or heard. It was all the shades of blue and glowed with a luminance, almost as if all the oceans and seas were all poured into its porcelain, mixed with the light of the sun, moon, and stars; then all of these elements reflected off the waves of sound. A blue Triforce was etched into the mouth piece, a solid dark blue to stand alone from the other blues that always switched tints and crawled over the tiny instrument.  
  
The sound was even more mesmerizing than the look of the device. Earthly words could hardly scratch the surface of its beauty. Possibly the very first breeze blowing softly though the reeds of a lake on that first day of Time, before everything was raped and everything brave enough to sing out in joy, even if it lacked a mouth. Perhaps its the voice of some fair goddess, or a phoenix, but no human voice could imitate its coo. Link couldn't describe it's sound, but anyone or anything that heard the Ocarina of Time was somehow affected. Magic flowed through every note.  
  
The young blonde took a breath and slowly blew into the ocarina, his stress blew out of the holes in it when they weren't covered by his fingers, and all seemed okay while he played Zelda's Lullaby. The last notes faded into the air to be swept away and lost to some far off place. The sun was just setting and the sky became a melted pink- purple with silhouetted clouds. 


	2. The Meeting

Chap. 2 :The Meeting  
  
It's going to be cold Link thought, best make camp. Having been on many adventures, Link knew how to survive on the land. It seemed that him and the scratchy desert, sparking forest, or sharp ice could always turn out to be friends after some debate. It was better than walls...for then all there was in the indoors... . Walls: no life to them, they were only enlarged jail bars. The conclusion brought him back to reality, and aware of the task at hand.  
  
Link looked around hopefully for firewood on the floor, but remembered he was in a desert. He gave a sigh, crossed his arms, and leaned back onto Epona with hard-earned trust. Then out of the corner of his blues, he caught the little-budded bush. It swayed innocently with it's back turned.  
  
His eyebrows knitted, What a pity, I have to use virgin wood... Link always thought of every tree as the Great Deku Tree. That immense tree that, when alive, had raised him as a Kokiri like a father. Then one day with the help of Ganondorf, he was cursed, and doomed to die even though Link helped him through his last...  
  
With a sad shrug, Link got off the horse and strolled over to the brush. It still waggled in naivety, like a puppy dog being approached by it's master, but not knowing he held a bag and pipe. Link removed his Kokiri blade from its sheath and got down on one knee to peer beneath the evading twigs. His eyes went wide.  
  
Underneath the twigs in an minute-made nest of dirt, sat an egg, a little bigger than his head. Its silver color almost hurt his eyes with its glow. It definitely wasn't from any bird he'd ever seen. I wonder if it's real.... Curiosity overcame his better experience, and he reached out his fingers to graze the smooth, unbelievably soft looking surface.  
  
"HYA!!"  
  
Expecting the smooth comfort of the shell, Link was caught off guard by a blunt smack to the back of his head. He yanked away from the harmless little bush and rolled to his feet. As soon as he regained his balance though, a stick was sharply prodded into his stomach and he keeled over. Even after THAT, a punch was landed in his chest and his air flew out as he flew back. He landed on his butt where Epona had once been.  
  
Darkness finally had fallen and all Link could see of his attacker was a silhouette of a mound of ...stuff... molding over by the would-have-been firewood. What the hell is that? A heat started growing behind him. He turned to see a torch the stranger must have dropped , grabbed it, and held it out in front of him like a sword. He peered into the spongy dark.  
  
The light seeped along the ground until it came to his assaulter. To him it was just a huddled robe next to the bush. As if knowing he was staring at them, the person threw back their cloak in a way that made Link remember his last battle with Ganon. The flame flickered in her eyes for a minuscule second, pure rainbow circles. Then the torch was snuffed out without another glimpse.  
  
Link sat there, breathing forcibly and trembling. His goggled eyes stared forward beyond the naked torch, but only met blackness.  
  
The torch flickered back on.   
  
A girl's face filled his vision. Her ruby red lips gleamed in an almost unrecognizable smiles, but it was nothing compared to the snicker sparkling in her large eyes and lashes. Those eyes; they seemed to switch from pearly gray, like a dove or stone, to a black diamond, the lighting made the difference. What happened to the rainbows he had seen? Thin black eyebrows sliced through a brazened complexion and was framed by black and red streaked hair. It curved down to her chin and hung from her pointed ears liked curled knives.  
  
She frowned when she met his stare. " Travelers rarely come by these parts." Her eyes bore into his, looking like black endless holes, not a light shone in them. They sucked the words, thought memories, and breath out of Link, leaving only a numb blandness. She stepped back, pointing the lighted torch to him. He didn't know when she had taken it from him, which made his jaw drop even closer to the ground.   
  
Link's confusion was apparent to the girl, for a star of amusement exploded in her eyes and she grinned maliciously. "You may stand." When Link did so like a clamoring fool, she laughed, not lightly, but with enough edge to show she wasn't a nancying school girl. She looked about Link's age.  
  
"So what are you doing here, boy? A tourist? To look at rocks?" The lighted head of the torch inched closer to Link in the hands of the girl. He felt stupid. Why was the HERO OF TIME taking commands from some strange girl? If he had his old form, she'd probably be on her knees begging for forgiveness.   
  
The light shone off his sword behind her stance at the foot of the bush. His eyes darted back to her face so she wouldn't guess his next move. He wanted his time to smile, being quiet seemed too inferior to someone like him. It was insulting. He wanted to insult her back.  
  
In the blink of an eye he rolled beneath the flame and beyond her. Then just as quickly, he grabbed his sword and hopped back into a fighter's stance. She snapped around quickly to find the blade of the Kokiri pointing at her face. A slight fear dripped from her face, but evaporated just a quickly as it had come. She tore into his eyes, but he refused to let her weaken him again. He gave her back one of her own stares. Though her fate could've been easily arranged, she rose the torch she still held so that it was like two swordsmen ready to take eachother's life. Link just continued to leer at her, as she did to him, locked in a battle of dare.  
  
The silence was broken when a smile cracked back on to her lips, annoying Link. "Are you sure that's wise? What would you do with it anyway? Make a giant omelet? Or maybe you think you'll wait for it to hatch to see what if would feel like to have real power? It would destroy you in a matter of seconds...." The last phrase was said was a ferocity it hurt Link's ears. What was she talking about? Then he remembered the egg. It seemed to be what she wanted.   
  
With his left hand still pointing the blade at the girl, he reached his leg back and moved the egg out from it's snug nest without looking. The girl's face was covered by the unfamiliar expression of panic and her eyes clouded over. A shutter ran through her and she let out a tiny cry that she quickly shut off. Link rose his leg in her weakened moment, and placed it atop the egg as if threatening to stomp it. He received the most hateful glare he could imagine. "Give it up . Don't make me take it from you." Her voice wavered though. She lowered the flame and threw it behind her, leaving them both in darkness except for the sunspot it shown in the distance. He couldn't see her face now, but just her silhouette in that faint glow. She drooped. She spoke with kindness and fear... like a human "Give me the egg... please."  
  
Link's heart twanged. He took his boot off the egg, though it was his weapon, and stood back. The girl reached down and carefully scooped it up and bundled it in her arms like a baby. Then slowly she walked over to the torch, without turning her back, and picked it up. Only then did Link noticed her full image.  
  
She was about his height, with a grey-blue dark, sleeveless shirt that hung down from her neck over her chest of a young woman. The pants are what gave it away. They were made for the desert. Tight around the ankles and her tiny waist, with golden, turquoise, and maroon fabric. Between the couplets was thin white cloth that billowed out for keep cool. Where had he seen these before? It hit him; The Gerudo and pirates. Her skin was a bit lighter of their color, but the hair was traced with their blood. So were the beautiful facial structure, and strong body, still hexed though with the last drips of childhood. She turned and looked at him. "What?"  
  
"...and you thought I was a thief..."  
  
".... What are you getting at?" She had an offended height in her voice.  
  
"Why don't you tell me.... Gerudo?" 


	3. Gerudo?

Chap. 3 Gerudo?  
  
She stood there appalled. Link felt a chill run from her, through the ground, and into him. The girl made a sound as if she was going to say something offensive, but then swallowed her words. He couldn't see her face. "So ..yo-..you've been to Hyrule?"  
  
"Born and raised," he replied coolly.  
  
She paused for a second as if sizing up his answer then spoke urgently, "Come with me." She grabbed the light then walked, now out of her shy mood. Then without warning, swooped behind Link and scooped up the mysterious egg. Upon raising, the light shown in Link's face, illuminating his features and having her pause for a moment as their eyes locked, his startling blue, hers a strange, dark gray. In that moment time seemed to slow, as if they were reading eachother's thoughts; knowing eachothers life. That tiny second became much more than an instant, but a drop in the Pool of Time, beginning to start new waves in the race of life.  
  
She smiled, "By the way....My name's Grodan."  
  
"I'm Link, nice...err...to meet you." She just smiled and started walking down the path, a floating light.  
  
Only when Link had been walking for a few minutes, did he notice her absence.  
  
"Hey! Where's Epona?!" He frantically looked around , but to no prevail.  
  
Grodan looked skeptically then her features relaxed. "Ohhh...that horse..yes. We'll find her. Creatures never go far from here....of course it's night time. Strange things happen at this time....heheheh," After a few steps more in silence and Link's growing worry, she exclaimed "Hey! There she is! It told you we'd find her!"  
  
Epona slowly slugged forward from behind a boulder, and hung her head in guilt of her flight. Link walked over to her and huggled her head. She nuzzled him back.  
  
"Sometimes the most courageous thing to do is to run away." Grodan said from behind.  
  
Link continued to stroke Epona's hair, not wanting to turn and look at the girl. That quote had hit him harder than it was intended to. He thought of WHY he left Hyrule, he was scared, he didn't know why, but just the familiarity of everything, and what he had seen, felt, and heard, it would always stick to him and make him remember the time stolen from him; if they had ever happened, and why. So he ran away on his horse from it all, despite Zelda's pleads to stay. Now he almost felt better, the confusion was ebbing away. He had the Triforce of Courage, and just as Grodan had said Sometimes it's the most courageous thing to do is to run away.   
  
Grodan's voice awoke him from his contemplation. "This actually looks like a good place to camp," she laughed, "Your horse done good!"  
  
Link turned around and led Epona over to Grodan so the horse could get used to another person's presence. The pony tossed her head a bit and he could feel her heart racing through her broad chest as they neared the human. Grodan looked into the pony's eyes and whispered something Link didn't catch. Epona slowed down and with a nervous compassion, then stroked her muzzle against the girl.   
  
Link was puzzled. "She usually doesn't take so fondly to strangers."   
  
"Horses in general usually don't take a liking to me that easy either...odd," her brow furrowed in thought, but she snapped out of it and continued to stroke. "Well, I think I'll get a fire going, be right back." She left Link and Epona in the dark.  
  
Soon a light glowed from around the bend that led to the clearing, and Grodan emerged with a certain bush beneath her arm.  
  
"You cut it down?!" Link was surprised at her nonchalance manner of cutting down such a feeble plant. It was probably the last remaining vegetation within miles.   
  
Grodan shrugged, "Survival of the fittest I guess!" 


	4. Getting to Know Ya

Chap. 4 Getttin' to Know Ya  
  
Once the bush was burning brightly, Grodan sat down and took some meat out of a bag. She put it on a stick and roasted it. Once it was done, she rose the morsel to her mouth, but stopped when she noticed Link staring at her.  
  
"Sorry, I'm not used to company. Like some?" Grodan held out the food generously.  
  
Link was still stuck on her Gerudo origin. What was one doing all the way out here? So young...and alone? They're a tribe...."Uh....It's ok, I'm not hungry...I don't know why.... I guess I'm used to it from traveling so much," Epona was folded up behind Link so he could lay back on her. "Then the only company I have is the horse." From behind she gave a snort as if to say "You BETTER be grateful for my company!" The two teenagers laughed.  
  
Grodan took out the egg from a sash. "You're probably wondering what this is that I would have started such a...a... scene...back there....sorry 'bout that by the way. Just so it's clear," her voice hardened, " I DIDN'T steal it!"  
  
"Well don't burn me for wondering. Gerudos DO have a history of theft...." The Triforce of Courage spoke for him.   
  
Link saw a storm thunder in the girl's eyes. She opened her mouth as to say something really obscene, but then closed it and went back to her cool nature.  
  
"Did I ever SAY I was a Gerudo?"  
  
"Well, you did stammer a bit back there, got all quiet like, once I brought it up."  
  
Grodan was silent, she knew it was true. She spoke. "I will admit....my mother was a Gerudo of Gerudo Valley," it seemed sort of hard for her to speak, " for a time."  
  
"What are you doing out here then? Wouldn't you be training to be one of them in Hyrule or something?"  
  
Grodan then clammed up. "How do I know that I can trust you? I mean, I've just known you for not even an hour. How do I know I can tell you about my past?"  
  
"Grodan, you don't. Sometimes you just have to trust people."  
  
"Trust is not one of my better skills...."  
  
There was going to be no more in that conversation. So Link started up another topic. "You were going to tell me about that egg?"  
  
"Oh yes...the egg." A smile slithered onto her lips and she held the egg in her hand like the skull of a Shakespearean poet. It shone in her eyes, making them appear even larger and full of greed. "It's very important to me."  
  
You may not believe me, but it's the egg of some sort of dragon-bird ...thing. Yeah..sorry for not being more specific. My father was very vague. This is sort of a coming of age journey. He said that if I can deliver this egg to it's mother before it hatches...or I drop it, then I will be eligible for certain privileges I can't enjoy now." She took out two fighting sticks from her sack, " Like being able to use REAL weapons in battle." A sad expression came over her, then, thinking that Link would think less of her, she retorted, "Not that I don't know how to. I think I clearly demonstrated that. Just my father, he said I couldn't use any until I'm of the right age and state of mind. I know I can handle it. I think this quest is to show my responsibility with such fragile cargo....and the bad thing is... I don't know what sort of flying creature it is. What could it do to me if it hatches early!?"   
  
She calmed down and sighed, "I wish my dad had been more clear on directions...he just gave me the egg, and told me to go to some mountain, Gyde's Rock, on the other side of The Dunes. Grrr."  
  
"Um....I'll help you?" Link asked it. Grodan didn't seem to like to be forced to be something she had no say in, judging by recently past events.  
  
Grodan looked at him, "Why would you want to help someone like me? I could've killed you back there."  
  
"I didn't just come here for the view. When I go places, I want to accomplish something; to make my presence notable. Helping people is just something that I do. It's like built into me. Also," he had just labeled himself as a great adventuring hero, " I don't really know this place, someone who's familiar with it would be of much help. I don't want to fall in some quick sand or something and need someone with thumbs to pull me out." He could feel Epona's quiet, yet playful anger. " So, we'll be helping eachother out...partner." Link stuck out his hand in a business like manner.   
  
Grodan hesitated, but remembered what she had to do and reached over the flame... And shook his hand, "Partner." Both smiled. 


	5. The Dunes

Chap. 5 The Dunes  
  
Link awoke in the wee hours of the morning curled up tightly next to Epona. His whole body trembling because it was freezing! He managed to open his eyes. The orange of the desert was now a dull grew, along with the sky. Grodan was still there, sitting on the other side of the dying fire with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her head was slightly tilted to one side, smiling, and waiting patiently. She seemed abnormally serene.  
  
"Sleep well?" She asked.  
  
"Ugh, I wish I could have stayed asleep. At least in my dreams it was warm."  
  
She laughed. "You will wish it was still cold in about an hour. The sun's going to rise soon. She nodded into the distance where some mountains were beginning to turn their colors again.  
  
"Sorry, I couldn't start another fire. There's no more wood for a long way. That will be part of our journey I guess!"  
  
Link got up groggily to his feet and stretched. "So where to now?"  
  
Grodan stood up and pointed far across the Dunes. The sea of sand was just catching the suns rays which also lit the distant mountains on fire. Through the silhouette of the fired peaks, one stood out from all the rest. It wasn't a peak, but looked like the mountain had sprouted a head from it's top and threw it far back to laugh wickedly at the sky. It's goatee and eagle's nose was even more unnerving at how human it was. A shutter ran through Link.  
  
Her voice was flat. "That's Gyde's Rock; that's our destination."   
  
"Wow" Link was astonished. "So, I guess we should get going?"  
  
"Good idea, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave."  
  
The pair made their way out of the sharp rock maze and started the long tread through The Dunes. Epona seemed very unhappy, being much heavier than the two, she would sink deep into the soft sand. It also didn't help that she was laden with the humans' bags and miscellaneous objects. Link and Grodan would always have to pull her out of the sand pockets too. Grodan was getting annoyed. They had only gone about a three miles into the mid-run by noon. Finally Grodan said what was on her mind.  
  
"Are you sure you want to continue with that horse? You could just leave her here you know, animals have a very keen sense of direction" Her voice was hard and annoyed.  
  
" The one thing I'm sure of is that I'm NOT going to leave her in the desert to be eaten by something!" Link was very taken aback at the young Gerudo's suggestion.  
  
Grodan looked a little sad, she turned her back to the boy and looked toward the Mountain in the distance. "It's a long way to go, Link. Are you sure you want to risk bringing your horse?" Link's silence was his answer. She was quiet for a moment , looked down, and put her hand to the sides of her head. Link could tell she was thinking; he was good at guessing what was on peoples' minds. A tug-of-war game was going on in her head, but of what he knew not.  
  
Finally she spoke reluctantly, "My father could pick her up...."  
  
"Your father? What?!"  
  
She sighed and turned to him but not making eye contact. She spoke quickly, "Okay, so we leave it-," she saw Link's warning look, " her here and I tell him she is your horse and should not be eat-" and alarmed look burst onto the boy's face, "um....that was a rash example." She continued, " eaten or any other harmful thing done to her. And only that she should be treated as a queen to the extent that she'd believe she was one after the short time with him."  
  
"You'll tell him exactly that?"  
  
"If it is to your liking."  
  
"Yeah, all except the part about her believing she was a queen, I don't think that would be good for our relationship."  
  
"Sure thing, so you want me to write it?" She took a piece of parchment out of her bag and started jotting down her words in a red quill she had also removed.  
  
Link waved out his hands "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Write it? So, are you suddenly going to have a bird just fly down and deliver the note? Or just throw it in a bottle and whisk it out to this sea of sand in hope that it will reach him in a few decades?!"  
  
"No need to for that now, you were right on the first guess."  
  
Out of nowhere a black eagle zoom over their heads where Grodan quickly tossed the rolled up paper into the air. The noble bird caught it in it's talons and flapped away as quickly as it had come.  
  
Link was dumbfounded.   
  
"You're welcome." Grodan smiled and shook her hair haughtily. Then she picked up her bag and started strutting down the dune.  
  
"Wait, Grodan!" Link screamed, he was angry. She turned around, still smirking broadly.  
  
"I didn't even give you permission to send it! How do I know your father?! Entrust my ride and friend with a total stranger?! That's crazy! And judging by your genes, there's a line of thievery and she's a nice horse. The two don't go logically together!"  
  
Grodan's mouth gaped. "There you go, insulting my heritage again, eh? And by the way, he's not a Gerudo! You seem to not be having any trouble with me, and you've not even known me a day! You're just going to have to trust me on this one too."  
  
Link fumed. He had been TOLD! "W-what if I don't trust you on this one!?"  
  
"I don't think you have a choice now love, the letter's gone. He's going to come!"  
  
"I could ride back with Epona right now and leave you here alone," with that he mounted his horse and started walking down the hill. He felt good telling off the girl. A large grin parted his face.  
  
"Fool! I'm not sure you would want to do that!" Grodan yelled from the top of the sandy mound. The words had barely left her mouth when Link felt a rumbling beneath where he and Epona stood. The nice feeling quickly drained out of him.  
  
Epona whinnied loudly and reared back, throwing Link to the ground. She backed up on her hind legs and tossed her head back and forth, her eyes flashing their whites. From where she and her rider had previously stood, a large snake, the size of a tree sprang it's spiky head out of the ground, shaking sand off everywhere. It hissed wickedly and tried to snap at Epona's legs, but missed by a hair. The poor horse fell to the ground and kicked her legs frantically to regain her footing, but the sand was bogging her down. The serpent rose to strike it's prey with a deadly blow. It's large fangs, the size of Link's sword, shined in their venom.   
  
Link was trying to get up off the sand and save his horse in front of him, but the desert terrain was also taking a toll on him and he couldn't get to her quickly enough.  
  
"NOOOOOO!!!!"  
  
Then in that millisecond before the snake could make his kill, a blur jumped out from above with the skill of being raised in the desert, smacking it so hard on the nose that the sound reverberated off the dunes. The sand snake reeled it's head back and shook it's head in confusion. Little girls was standing between him and this tasty morsel. As his vision righted, the little girls turned into ONE little girl. If a snake could smile, the grimace of that creature was a grin of malice and good fortune. So, he struck at lightning speed, expecting warm, tender human flesh, but he choked on a long pole stuck down his throat and froze. The girl stared him in his golden irises, her eyes were unnerving; black. His lust was sucked out of him and he went limp. He could only listen.  
  
"You will leave now, and never come back to bother any passer in these hills. You will leave, to dig your tunnels elsewhere, and eat heartily in another land. But not here, it is not your time."  
  
The trance of the monster was suddenly broken, for being of such vile existence, he could taste fear from a mile away. The girl's eyes lost their absorbency and a nearly undetectable waver of fright sang out lightly from them. He pulled back taking the girl's stick with him. She gasped, "It didn't work!"  
  
He readied himself again. to strike as fatally as he could, and this time he wouldn't miss. Grodan shrank away against Epona in the feeling of pure dread that numbed her entire body and mind.  
  
"Not now buddy!" Link leaped from behind, wrapping his legs around the serpent's neck and he stabbed his Kokiri blade into the back of the scaly skull with a sickening squish. The snake made a sound then, horrid to the ears. It wasn't a hiss or a screech, but more. It was the scream of something...or someone, who had lived the life of always winning, being on top, and getting what they wanted ;just to be thrust down to below the level of which it killed, of those tiny, tiny, nothings, and then to finally see their own face, and to see, that this whole time, there was nothing there,-only a shadow.   
  
So the miscreation fell , just shy of hammering a trembling Grodan into the ground. It flopped around as it's nerves were too stubborn to give way to reality, and he spluttered dark blood out of it's mouth like a dragon would flame, drenching the poor girl. She stared at the deep redness, all over her hands and face, in her mouth, and soaked into her clothing. It looked into me...and saw...my true fear...It's the only thing that has...to fail. She looked down into the fiend's empty eyes and saw back to when it was born, but the size of a worm, so innocent, with no sight or hearing, and no idea where he was. It was left alone to fend for itself. Its mother of course abandoned its children to the mercy of the desert....he was so scared, and he would cry in his blindness. But then, one day, a mouse he killed, its warm blood heating his coldness, and he writhed with happiness and his eyes came forth from their shells. So began his killings, and he grew and grew, beyond the size of all his kin, to be a lord of the world, at least in his eyes and those of his victims. And in one moment, his life and...everything....it was taken away...he failed. Darkness took her, and she fell back onto the pillow of horse. 


	6. Lord Nor

Chap. 6 Lord Nor  
  
Link peeled himself from the ridges of the creature once it had finally taken its bow and its nerves gave up the fight. He breathed heavily in fear of what he'd find beyond the demons' head. At first he thought the blood that met him was Grodan's but quickly noticed it wasn't. Epona was fine too, a little shaken, but resting her savior's head on her chest with motherly instinct.  
  
"Grodan? Grodan?! It's me, Link, wake up!" Her eyes remained shut. He touched her face, it was cold. He feared the worst, "C'mon! I killed it, there's no need to be frightened...."  
  
"My daughter...." A deep voice sounded from behind Link. He whipped around to be towered over by a huge, hooded man. The only person he had ever seen so big and strong was Ganondorf, but he was dead. Then Link remembered he was not dead, just floating in the Evil Realm, which could be broken somehow, someday. Link was about to pull for his sword when the man lifted back his red veil, revealing the eyes he had seen before.  
  
"You're- you must be, Grodan's father...."   
  
"Yes I am her father, You can call me Lord Nor. And who might you be boy?"  
  
"I-I'm Link of Hyrule, just a mere traveler." He could have said what he really was; The Hero of Time. But it didn't seem right to someone with such a powerful aura and he of such small stature.  
  
Nor acknowledged the youth's introduction with a slow nod, but he knew what the boy really was. The humble response of this boy, gave him away along with the energy he felt around him; he has seen more than most do in a lifetime.. A hero yes, but not an arrogant, reckless one, like the many he had seen over the centuries. He knew the state quite well,- for he was once one in his first decades. He will have a different end....a great one at that. Nor peered deep into Link's sharp blues, he saw his story.   
  
Link couldn't look him in the eyes for long. Instead he bowed, it seemed the only thing appropriate to do in his presence. Those eyes, they were even more grippingly dark than his daughter's, he thought that feat was impossible to pull off. Unlike Grodan though, the man had a full head of wavy black hair that crawled to his broad, armored shoulders. The hair wasn't without gray hair, as his face was creased with wise wrinkles. With these usually dreaded characteristics, he was still a handsome man with high, defined cheek bones, his face was dusted by an unshaved beard.   
  
The man glided past Link and took a knee next to his daughter leaning against the sand and touched her face. "She is still alive, just fainted."   
  
Link was fascinated by the black symbol on his red cape. It looked like four people sharing one body, their arms radiating into the four cardinal directions. Their arms were anther's legs, their legs anther's arms, all locked in a diamond box. The same sign was engraved into his metal breast plate, but blood red.   
  
Then Nor did something Link didn't expect. He placed his hand on his daughter's forehead, closed his eyes, and squeezed. Grodan let out a scream, but yet she her lights were still out. Nor was very calm for causing his child pain, his eyes glazed over as the whole scene; meeting Link, defending the egg, her and Link's fight, then the fight with the serpent. Nor's eyes widened as the images and thoughts Grodan had as the snake's blood soaked her. The same pain coursed through his bones too, and he ripped his hand away. Grodan let out a cough and opened her eyes. She saw her eyes staring back at her, started to say something, but was stuck in an even worse fit of coughs.  
  
Link panicked. Was he hurting her to make him say something? Maybe confess? "Sir! I didn't do anything! The snake-!"  
  
"Yes I can see it! It's called a rieck, I believe that was the last harmful one in this valley. You'll know the kind ones when you meet them. I've been trying to be rid of the human eating ones for years, running them out of the desert."   
  
Finally the girl had her breath, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, please, let me continue the quest, I will prove myself. It won't happen again, next time it will work," the uncertainty of that prospect was clear though, "I nearly made it work...please."  
  
"There's no need to sink to begging, girl. I never said you couldn't do it. I must speak my mind though. If it wasn't for the boy, I'm not sure you could have handled the rieck. Also, you had to make me come all the way over here to lift the burden of an animal from you."  
  
Grodan met Link's eyes over her father's shoulder. He knew that if he had only trusted her with the letter and not stormed off with Epona, this confrontation wouldn't have happened. She knew it too, and that she was trying to make life easier for Link also. She let out a helpless sigh, "Yes father."  
  
"I agree." Nor didn't seem to have much fatherly love for his only daughter in his actions, but Link knew that beyond the choppy responses, and limited physical contact, she was what kept him going. Grodan wasn't sure of this though. Link thought it was sad that someone who has a parent, unlike him, should be neglected of such caring. The ability was just rotting there.  
  
"I got your note quickly. That bird calling, Grodan, good job, I can give you that." The girl's face lit up with the rare praise.   
  
"I believe I should take the horse now?"  
  
"Oh, right." Grodan struggled to her feet and swayed a little. The large hand of her father caught her shoulder before she could fall. She looked up into his eyes, but when he looked back, the gaze of love wasn't mutual, his eyes were as cold as ever. The smile faded from the child's face. The Lord let go and walked over to the unfolding Epona.  
  
The horse whinnied at first and stepped back, rolling her eyes in fear. Link knew he could trust this man. There was something more about him he couldn't put his finger on.  
  
"It's okay girl, you're fine, you're fine....shhhhshh," Nor gently soothed Epona into following him when he took her bridle. He started leading her into the hills.   
  
"Thank you, Link the Hero-"he caught himself, and stared into Link who stared back. There was an unsettling silence....  
  
"Th-Thank you...Link...for saving my daughter's life."  
  
"It was nothing, she saved my horse and mine's first-"  
  
He changed the topic. "I will return her to you Link, when you get to Gyde's rock and the mission is complete. Good luck to you now, you have my blessings." He gave one last glance at Grodan, still covered in blood, then let it linger on Link for a while this won't be the last time we meet. And with that he slid up his hood and disappeared behind a dune, horse and all. 


	7. Another Side

Chap. 7 Another Side He was gone, but Grodan was transfixed at the bend he had vanished behind. She hugged herself with her tears brimming her eyes. Link could feel her loneliness. He walked up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder, making her jump. Again she peered into his eyes, this time longer, until she surprisingly leaned forward and hugged the boy. The embrace was strange to him, sure a lot of girls had been close to him, but they kept their distance (even if they didn't want to). This was the first one that had actually broken that barrier. She whispered in his ear, "Thank you for staying with me." When she pulled away, she smiled, no tears fell now. Link walked over and picked up their bags, handing her hers. "I guess we have to carry our own things now." He said.  
"Well, I bet Epona's happy about it." Now what's missing? Link felt an unbalance in him. He looked down and saw the Kokiri Blade's handle sticking out of the rieck's head. Looking back at Grodan ,who had a queasy face on, he pulled out the knife, like he would the Master Sword except this sword was bloodied now.  
"So much blood for such a tiny wound," Grodan said somberly from behind, "Thank you." "Um...anytime. I owed you though." "We're even then," finally she smiled, and they proceeded over the waste.

Night was falling and they had just reached the beginning of the middle of the desert. The rolling hills were beginning to shorten. It would soon shrink to just a flat, dry plain. In a tiny valley between four large dunes, the pair, now horseless, made camp but with no fire. No plant would dare take root here.  
"I guess there's no going back now..." She said, "Once we get to those flatlands, there's going to be nothing to hide us, no shadows, barely any rocks. We're going to have to get all the rest we can here, the next day or two is going to be hard... if we're lucky" "What do you mean by that?" Link wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.  
Grodan's voice took a serious turn," Mid-desert is where the nastiest creatures lie, waiting. They know that anyone who roams through there won't have any protection, they will be half-baked by the sun, and exhausted. All the easier to catch. And if the creatures don't get us, the elements will. This is where the sands whipped up from the dunes on the edges can turn into immense storms, blocking out the sun and our own hand in front of our faces. That's what this is for," she took out a thick rope from her sack, "We would have to use it to stay together. Some have been known to just whip you off the ground like a leaf, carry you for miles, and then just drop you on whatever may be there from hundreds of feet up. These storms are very unexpected too, you can't tell one's coming until it's dropped right before your nose." Link was unsure about this excursion now, "Can it get any worse?" "Actually..." "Oh no..." "Well in the middle of the barren land of the Mid-Run, there's this giant crevice about...eh...100 feet across. It drops down at least 5 times that though. I don't know what's down there, or how to get across it without flying," she paused and saw Link's disbelieved expression, "People have gotten across it though, I'm sure of that. So it's not impossible?" Grodan said in the best way possible trying to lift his spirits.  
Why did I even agree to come? Looking down, he spied his left hand and eyed the place where the Triforce of Courage would alight and imagined it in it's golden majesty. Then he peered up at Grodan, all alone, peering out into the dark nothing. Dry blood turned her dull colors a dark brown. He reflected on her father. Sure he was extremely cold, but he didn't keep her locked up. He thought of Zelda for the first time in two days and his heart faltered. She was also close to him. His hand was a reminder of what he was, of what he was obligated to do. We'll get through it some how- I always do at least.

The next morning Link awoke to another cold morning, but much chillier. There was no fire this time. Grodan and he had snuggled up close to eachother to gain off the other's body heat. She awoke too. Groggily she got up. "We better get a head start. The sooner we start, the less time we have to be out there at the peak temperature." So they packed up what little they had and strolled off deeper into the desert.  
By the time the sun had risen, the dunes had sank to just a shallow pool, getting shallower and shallower each step. Link could feel the increased heat already. At least when the dunes were around they would be hit first and reflect most of the light back up to the sky. Here in the barren land, the rays had no where to go but sink into his skin and eyes. By midday, he was dying, "Grodan, can we stop to rest?" "Again?" She turned around. She was wearing the classic veil over her mouth the way most Gerudos did so only their eyes showed. It was a little chilling to Link, knowing what that tribe was capable of doing- and did. Yet, he was walking side by side with one ...as a friend, at least, he considered her one, and by his judgment, she classified him as one too. It was strange, she didn't seem hurt by the heat or the climate. Some sweat clung to her, but it only made her light, bronze skin glow like a desert flower. He on the other hand, was red in the face and could feel his sweat evaporating before it hit the desert rock.  
"Please, just for a minute." "I guess," she said helplessly and walked over to where he had plopped down. He took a long draught from his canteen, " I wish I had your genes." "Well Gerudos were made for the desert." "Why is it that there's a band of pirates that look exactly like you guys then? They live on the shores." "Well, they were originally from the desert too. Seeking better fortunes than jumping travelers, or picking the bones of merchants fatally lost in the desert, a band of them migrated to the seas. I've never visited them though. My mother had told me her sister had left with them," her eyes clouded over in her inward thoughts. Link could tell she was sad. She sucked it up and continued though, "I never asked you about your parents, Link? You know a lot about mine (actually he had the faintest idea what they truly were, but she of course wouldn't mention anything... yet) Tell me about yours." She looked him in the eyes expectantly.  
"Actually, I'm an orphan." "Oh, I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I'm half orphan!" Link gave a wry smile. He decided to be truthful with her; there was nothing really to hide from her, he didn't know much about them either. "My father died the Great War in Hyrule fourteen years ago. He was a Knight of Hyrule, or so I was told. And my mother escaped with me as an infant, but not without fatal wounds. She made her way to this place, Kokiri Forest, and with her last breath, told the Great Deku Tree to watch over me. Then she died." Grodan laughed and got to her feet.  
"What! I don't laugh at your sad stories!" He followed after her, ready to fight for his past.  
"I'm not laughing at their death!" She could barely control herself, "You were raised by a TREE!" She continued to shake, "Well, that explains the look!" Link was insulted by how she acted. But then he remembered he kept prejudging her about her Gerudo blood, even if she was only half of their kind. Then he thought it over, it was a little weird to be raised by a giant piece of vegetation. He felt slightly guilty though. If he wasn't with this fun-loving girl, he probably would feel a lot worse with such thoughts. They started walking and talking. Being eachother's company, it took their mind off the heat.  
"I don't know, I just got used to these clothes. All the other Kokiri children wear them." "Kokiri children? What are they?" "Well there are about 20 or so of these children that don't grow up and live in these woods. It's a great place- really it is. All day just playing and laughing." His eyes glazed over, remembering the good old days, "These clothes let us blend into the forest surroundings, just in case something bad comes into it. Sure it's not fashionable outside the forest boundaries, but, it's just me." He then added haughtily, "Just wait 'till you see me when I'm grown up!" "Grown up? I thought you said those Kakoro- or whatever you guys are called, stayed children forever!" She looked Link over from head to toe, as if trying to find out some clue on him, telling her how many thousands of years old he was.  
Link's comical humor dimmed a little, "You see, since my mother took me into the forest, I was never born in it. I'm actually a Hylian. It's very shocking to realize you've lived a lie all your life..." "I'm sorry." "It's okay. It's nice to know I can leave the forest without dying." "Yeah, that would be a plus. Still, the clothes..ugh." "I tell you, just wait until I'm older! Then you'll be sorry you insulted my looks, all the chicks will be after me!" "How do you know how you're going to look? I bet you're going to be ugly." He laughed. He knew she was just joking, "We'll see about that." He looked off into the distance and to his surprise he saw the real Hero of Time, tall, strong and handsome. Walking away with the Master Sword in hand.  
"The desert heat is getting to you dear, if you think you are going to be handsome." He just smiled and watched the mirage disappear into a shimmer of heat waves. 


	8. A Dream and a Nightmare

**Whoah... hadn't updated in a long time. Thanks for the goodreviews! I was losing hope...**

**Sorry for any inaccuracieswith names or places... I haven't refreshed my Zelda knowledge in a year or two. I wrote this story a long time ago and have been discovering all these problems in it. heh.**

**I've looked at the publishedchapters of thisand there seems to be a lot of problems with the spacing and indenting which can be pretty painful and confusing to read.I'll try to fix that from here on out. For the few that have braved the last 7 chapters, I salute you and apologize for what you had to trudge through!**

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Chapter 8. A Dream anda Nightmare

The day continued, and their friendship bonded many times over as they learned of eachother and where they came from. Before Link knew it, it was becoming nighttime."Wow. That was quick! I didn't even need to rest this time!" he said.  
"It's the miracle of laughter!" Grodan said. This girl seemed to be chock full of sayings and wit. He was liking her more day after day. "Where should we make camp?" She asked.  
"Does it really make a difference? It all looks the same to me!"Link exclaimed. Gyde's rock _did_ look a lot closer after two days of traveling.  
"By tomorrow we should get there right before sundown. Then there's hard part. Trying to get to the top. That's another day though. I don't know about you, but I'm wiped out." With that she laid down and within seconds, was lightly breathing beneath a heavy blanket. Link was spent too. He laid down next to her, hoping to be taken by sleep before the bitter, full force of the cold could reach him. Soon he followed his friend into dreamworld.

_Link was in Hyrule Field. It was nighttime, cold, and windy. Something big was happening. There was a screaming crowd with pitchforks and torches in the corner of rocks next to the entrance to Lake Hylia. He felt a twang of fear, he didn't know what for though. Then he noticed he was galloping forward on Epona, she wasn't little though. She was her giant, stallion form. He looked down at his hands and legs, his whole body. So much bigger. It hit him; he was an adult again. The horse ran with mad speed to the crowd, he felt a dire urgency to see what they were crowding and poking at; Link's life depended on it. His horse nearly bowled the people over. It was of a breathtaking young woman with black hair,heaving with sobs on the ground. But before he could find out who it was, there was a blinding flash of white light._

The little boy of fourteen sat up straight from the hard ground. Around him the desert was beginning to glow with the sunrise. Grodan's figure still lay on the ground, moving slightly up and down with her sleeping breaths. It was only a dream. He was relieved, but the mystery of whothis girlwas still poked at him. Link sighed.He looked out overthe planes. Sure it was icy, but the remoteness of such a place was actually sort of beautiful.  
He continued to stared off until the ground dipped off the side of the world. Link couldn't see much by the moon and stars, but the light was enough to show something in the distance.At first he thought his eyes were just being cheated by another illusion, but this thing was actually very real. It steadily grew bigger and bigger, faster and faster. It was coming right toward them! On top of the creature (he still couldn't tell what it was) there was a human basking in the moonlight but controlling the creature's small head on its long neck. Link hoped that it would pass them by if they were totally still. He laid back down, but left his eyes open just a slit.  
The soft thudding grew louder, he could feel the vibrations through the ground into his body. Then it stopped. Link could sense its presence on the other side of Grodan. A slick poisonous voice sliced the silence of the night.  
"I know, it's here..." There was a ruffling and Link felt the pressure of Grodan's back lift from his. The next thing he heard was a loud thwack and then a scream from the man.  
Grodan had jumped up and kicked the man hard in the face. She wasn't such a a fool as to let someone sneak up on her to do God knows what.  
"AAA! You little BITCH! You'll pay!" He gave athrew out a commandand just as suddenly there was a sudden loud snarl and his friend's scream.  
Link was to his feet now, sword drawn and ready to pounce at the man, but he stopped at the scene before his eyes. Grodan was struggling and giving soft cries of pain, hanginga good two feet off the ground by the jaws of the strange creature the man had.Her her forearm dripped dark blood, seepingout where its razor-sharp teeth punctured her skin.  
The creature didn't look like one to be messed with. It was a good twelve feet from the ground at it's maximum height. A slender, draconian head with silvery-blue eyes peaked out from it's long, gray neck. It met a chest where two arms poked out. They looked like the wings of a featherless bird, vestigial, no talons or fingers. But the man had corrected that by screwing on some sharp armor to the stubs. There was even webbing attaching the arms' farthest part to the thigh. The hindquarters of the beast were immense; tight muscles made up its large legs, built for speed and strength. Then there was a short tail slipping off the crooked backbone. It looked like it had been specially bred for such purposes; the chimera of a chicken and a dragon.  
Theyoung man leaned hautily against his ride. He wastall with pale skin and red hair draping around his face like a willow. His green eyes challenged Link in their evil smile beneath unruly eyebrows. He was dressed in armor which, despite it's bulk, still gave away his lanky build with his desperate attempts to tower over others.  
"Don't move boy, or you're girlfriend gets it." He looked back at Grodan with a taunting sympathy. She leered back into him, threw her head back and spit on his face. Disgusted, he just whipped off the saliva, brushed it on his thigh, then snapped his fingers. The creature lashed its head about, as if going to rip the girl's arm off. She yelled even louder, but then gave up and hung limp.  
The man took his attention back to Link, "Put down the sword kid. We all just want to get on our way." Link looked pleadingly at Grodan to wake up, but she was out. He obeyed. The man saw Grodan's bag on the ground and rummaged through in it. His eyebrows raised and an even more obnoxious smile gleamed upon his face as he found what he wanted. The silvery luminancy of the egg glowed upon his face as he wrapped it in a blanket and he cackled. "Okay. I've got what I want. Drop her." The monster did.  
As soon as Grodan hit the ground though, her dark eyes slashed open and she did a side kick into the man's ankle, buckling his knees. He yelped and fell, the egg went flying feet into the air."NOO!" The twohollered simultaneously, groping toward the unreachable gem.  
Linkclosed his eyes, and without reason, the precious little thing fell right into Link's arms unharmed. Out of no where, a large kick was planted into his chest and he flew back at least five yards- without the egg. It tumbled in the air, as if in slow motion. All eyes were transfixed helplessly on it. Inches closing in to the ground, then centimeters... a blur of gray shot out, catching the egg in its teeth before it became a splatter of yolk. The teeth of the man's creature closed around it surprisingly gently.  
The man lurched up from the ground, gave Grodan a quick, hardkick in the stomach, then hopped onto his steed. "GO!" He kicked off and the creature jolted forward toward where the sun was rising, beyond the mountains.  
"NO!" despite her torn arm and bruised stomach Grodan battled for her footing then stumbled off after him. Link bruise, lurched up after her, but not before grabbing their bags. He didn't feel they would be returning. All he had to do was follow the trail of blood. On he ran in the temperate twilight, just watching the girl ahead stumble and yell out some indistinguishable challenge to the rider. He couldn't see the enemy, but he was sure she still could.  
He was out off breath and aching, they had been tottering after several mintues of running, the sun mostly risen now. Suddenly the anxious girl just stopped in her tracks and fell forward onto the ground.  
Link caught up to her, dropped on his knees beside her in exhaustion. "Wh-what happened?" It was hard to catch his breath. He rolled her over to see her face, sweat stained, but then again, those could have been tears.  
"He...e-escaped." She pointed over to the chasm that she had talked about yesterday, the Mid-run. "I know where he's going though. It's something only he would be crazy enough to do."  
"So are we still going to Gyde's Rock?" Link was very confused.  
"Yes...yes we are. With all the more haste now. Ah!" She grabbed her arm like it was the first time she'd noticed the wounds.Her flesh was sliced all over, making her entire arm just a shimmer of blood. She took off the veil she had been wearing and wrapped it around the wounds.  
"This isn't good." Her voice was weak and she almost didn't finish the words.  
Link's eyebrows furrowed and he looked up to their goal. It was still about three days away. She was not going to make it in this condition.  
"Who was that guy anyway?"  
"A fucking bastard, that Braitho. The dyke takes pleasures in crossbreeding creatures to make them stronger for his evil deeds. How do you think that rieck we met back there came to be? I could have kicked his fragile, pink ass if he hadn't had that animal with him. It must be one of his new creations..." She caught her breath, all the talking was wearing her out, but she continued, "Braitho, though crazy, he's not stupid. He will go to Gyde's rock, find the rest of the eggs, maybe even take the mother, and create an army of whatever those things are or just breed them with other things."  
"No, that doesn't sound good at all." Link looked down at the girl in his arms. She was so mature for only being his age, like she had lived once in the future too. But he strongly doubted it. Her eyes watered strongly with fear and doubt, but a quiet anger still roasted beneath them. Link's eyes were heavily set. He was not going to give up now. Not just for himself, but for her also.  
Grodan recognized the look in his eyes, she had had those thought another time. But now his look, gave her courage. She grabbed onto his collar and sat herself up. She smiled, "Thank you...again."  
Just as soon as it came, the smile was slipped away as she looked over her friend's shoulder. Her eyes widened infear asa large gust of wind blew through her hair and his. "Link."  
"Yeah?"  
"I don't think we need to worry too much about getting Braitho right now."  
"What? Why?"  
"Look behind you."

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**Cliffhanger!**


	9. Link's Awakening

Chap. 9 Link's Awakening Link didn't remember crashing into a dune on their destined side of the waste, nor being nearly buried in a blanket of sand. The awakening was all that came to him. In and out of consciousness he drifted, the heat, the sizzling of his bloody skin, the gravel shoved deep under his nails; everything stung. Soon the waves of confusion and blackness stopped and he blinked his eyes open to see the sun, still baking in the sky. Where's Grodan? He shifted his body to look where he was. There was nothing in sight. No storm or cloud, just a new layer of dust like a new snow, fresh, smooth and crisp. He got to his feet but fell back down onto his rump as his knees gave out. Where am I? He crawled over the dune, too exhausted and hurt to stand. The site of Gyde's Rock, just a day's travel, loomed over him. But it looked like the sun would be retiring soon, and he would be alone in the middle of the desert... cold and alone. Where could she be? He was very worried and trembled at the thought that she could have fallen somewhere hundreds of miles away- she could be dead. The sinking within him wouldn't go away. So he just sat there, his bag was lost, but his shield and sword had loyally stayed with him. It was then that he blacked out again.

This time, Link awoke to the chattering of his teeth. It was a little before midnight and the moon was almost in the middle of the black canvas. He hugged himself and rocked back and forth as the winds caused the sand to dance into the air like loopy ghosts in a ballroom. The transitional plains before him stretched infinitely on into the shadow and out of sight. It made Link feel like he was at the ocean, where all you could see was the water for miles and miles, never even imagining what was on the other side, just at awe, yet frightened by its vastness. He thought of Grodan somewhere out there; a grain of sand in a desert.  
I must not succumb to such thoughts. To amuse his failing thoughts, Link started to make sense of what forms the sand was forming as it swirled in the night. "A dragon. A bird. A flower. Bird..." He muttered it to himself so his lips wouldn't fall off, " a woman, a man, a crawling snake-" Link blinked a few times and his blue eyes grew from their idly lidded state. It is a snake! Another rieck! He wouldn't let it get by this time, he would be prepared. He staggered to his feet, and stood at the ready, his Kokiri Blade flashing in the moonlight. The snake slid with a sort of grace and carelessness, as if not even noticing there was fresh blood in front of him. Link could see its forked tongue tasting the night air. The nonchalance was strange... too strange. Maybe it's just a trick?  
The nearer it grew, now but a couple of yards away, Link saw its difference from the one he had killed the other day. It was lighter, almost white, so it stood out like a spot of intense moonlight slipping across the sand; a bit thinner and shorter. It also had these glowing, icy blue eyes, half lidded and sleepy. This is crazy... The rieck was almost to Link, who was about to pounce, but the spectral eyes met his and blinked questionably. The creature seemed to sway back and forth to some quiet rhythm as he rose up his head to observe the human. Link returned the quizzed gesture and relaxed back onto his heels. Are you going to hurt me or not? Link wasn't sure what to think, so he just continued the game.  
Then the creature pulled away. It swished a little from its spot and began to dig into the ground with a large bone before its nostrils. It was amazingly quick, and soon all the sand thrown into the air screened Link's vision from the rieck. As it settled, there was nothing in its spot, only a hole about 2 feet in diameter. Well, that's the end of that. Link turned to walk away to face a hopeless maze of dune and rock.  
Just when he thought that, the spikes and then the entirety of the rieck's head popped out from the ground. It gave a little bark... or was it a hiss. Link jumped and rose his sword again, just in case. The rieck peered up into his eyes, it was different from the golden, death stare in the other ones. This one was oddly reassuring. Then Nor's voice sounded in his head: You'll know the kind ones when you meet them.  
The rieck was sucked under ground again it's tail flicked the air as it turned it's body around. The tip was swallowed. Link was still for a few seconds, a minute, five. Finally he inched toward the passage, and carefully looked down as if expecting something to shoot out. He felt his left hand tingle and knew what he had to do. He got down and sat on the edge of the hole, his feet tainted black as they escaped the moon's stare. A rabbit going into a snake hole... just great. And he slid off. 


End file.
